Summertime & Butterflies

Despite the storm still pummeling Los Angeles, stepping out of the airport was, quite literally, a breath of fresh air for Olivia. She inhaled deeply, tugging her suitcase along behind her as she perused the cars pulling up alongside the curb to pick up waiting flyers. Her sister drove a white Lexus, but apparently, so did 90% of Los Angeles. Olivia was about to call her sister again – maybe she had a distinguishable rear view mirror decoration – when a white SUV pulled up beside the curb, horn blaring obnoxiously.

“Hi!” Stephanie Hayes-Gilbert squealed out the open window, barely stopping before Olivia pulled open the passenger door. Grinning at her sister, Olivia heaved her suitcase into the back seat and plopped down in the passenger seat.

“Hi!” Olivia echoed excitedly, her voice sounding exactly like her sister’s. She reached her arm out awkwardly to hug her sister, embracing her for just a moment before the cars behind them started beeping their horns impatiently. Stephanie’s arm poked through the open sunroof, flipping the people behind her the bird before shifting the car back into drive. Olivia snickered at Stephanie’s reaction.

“Well, Toto, I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Olivia teased. In their small home town in Canada, the only time anyone flipped someone off was if it was a well-known friend and done in jest. But Stephanie had been in Los Angeles for a few years now; it was only natural that she would pick up a sassy city attitude.

“People drive like shit down here,” Stephanie muttered, weaving in and out of lanes, her foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal. As Stephanie cut off a taxi and answered his horn with a long blare of her own, Olivia couldn’t help but notice that the “people” Stephanie had mentioned included her.

“So!” Stephanie continued brightly, not noticing her sister’s tight grip on the handle above the glove compartment. “Spring break, finally! How’s this year been, anyway?” she asked, glancing sideways at her sister, waiting for her reaction.

Olivia felt Stephanie’s gaze and turned to meet her eyes. “It’s been nutty,” she answered, breaking eye contact after just a moment. “Not really enjoying this group of kids as much as last year’s group, but…” She shrugged, fiddling with the chunky bracelet on her wrist. “Win some, lose some.”

Stephanie was silent, concentrating on maneuvering her car into the proper lane. “And… Ryan?” she asked.

Olivia let out a short laugh. “Steph, we broke up like a year ago,” she reminded her sister. “Do you honestly think I’m still sitting around every night, pining for him? Give me some credit!”

“Well, Mom said –“

“Mom doesn’t know everything!” Olivia retorted, her voice louder than she had intended. “She tries to set me up with, like… her co-worker’s kids. Guys I have nothing in common with! Like, you remember that weird Robert kid from elementary school? The one who would pull his hair out and put the tufts in his pencil case?”

“No!” Stephanie exclaimed, laughing. “Why, Mom?”

“Because he’s single,” answered Olivia. “The only pre-req for dating me, apparently. She needs to just calm down.”

“She’s just worried about you,” Stephanie reminded her sister gently. And though she wouldn’t admit it to Olivia, Stephanie was worried about her, too. Olivia had always been the bubbly sister, the outgoing life of the party. She’d spend her weekends on wine tours or river rafting or learning to ski. Olivia had never been one for sitting around night after night, spending weekends curled up on the couch. She was full of life and adventure. But since breaking up with her boyfriend of three years nearly a year ago, Olivia had fallen into a life of boring routine. Her Instagram feed, once filled with smiling group shots and views from atop a mountain, was now filled with wine glass selfies and cats. Oh, the cats.

Olivia sighed, exasperated. “Let’s just not, okay?” she asked her sister. “I don’t want to spend my vacation talking about Ryan. Or dating. Or my eggs shrivelling up before she gets a grandkid out of me.”

Stephanie laughed. She knew how their mother could be – small town, old-fashioned and a mother of three before she was twenty-five. She had her thoughts and opinions on life, and Olivia’s life – thirty-one, unmarried and independent – wasn’t familiar to her.

“Deal,” Stephanie answered, reaching over and gripping her sister’s hand. “And hey! Speaking of grandkids, I found a willing sitter for my Lucifers! There’s this awesomely shitty pub over in Garden Grove. It reminds me of the Horn back home. They have pool, super fatty pub food and creepy old men drinking pints at the bar.” Stephanie grinned at her sister. “Totally our kind of place!”

Olivia laughed, relieved that her sister had a plan for them tonight. Olivia – or, ‘Auntie Libby’ as the kids called her – loved five-year-old Mia, three-year-old Violet and two-year-old Jase, but coming from her quiet bachelorette pad, she needed to be weaned into her two week stay with her sister and her kids. A girl’s night out at a seedy dive bar would be perfect.

“Sounds amazing,” Olivia answered. “Do the bathroom doors lock? Because it’s not a dive bar if you pee with the door closed!”

“We’ll just bust a lock,” Stephanie determined. “Tell ‘em we’re nostalgic for our poor, vacated shit bar.”

“I miss that place,” Olivia said wistfully, remembering the old hotel bar in their hometown. The bar had been purchased by an out of towner, who ran it into the ground and closed several years later. It was dark, dirty and smoky, but for the residents of the small Canadian town, it was their Cheers.

“I miss home,” said Stephanie with a pout. “I keep hoping Jeff gets traded to Vancouver but so far, not even close.”

Olivia chuckled. “Do you really think Calgary-born Jeff would be psyched to play for the Canucks?” she asked. “Plus, P.S.? They suck!”

Stephanie scoffed and dismissed Olivia’s comment with a wave of her hand. “Minor details,” she answered. “Plus, Jeff’s so good, he would totally make that team win the Cup!”

Stephanie’s confidence in her husband’s hockey skills was cute, but Olivia couldn’t help laughing at the comment. “I don’t think even Jeff could make that team a contender,” she told her sister. “But, it might get me to cheer for them!” she added sarcastically, knowing full well that nothing could make the diehard Red Wings fan cheer for the Canucks.

A few minutes later, Stephanie slowed down and pulled into the driveway of a beautiful Cape Cod style home in Manhattan Beach. The home boasted five bedrooms, five bathrooms and was only a few blocks from the beach. The backyard was beautifully landscaped and perfect for a gaggle of kids to play make-believe, or to sunbathe and drink copious amounts of margaritas – which was exactly what Olivia was planning on doing with her vacation.


*~*~*~*

“Okay, what about this one?” Stephanie asked, emerging from her walk-in closet with yet another outfit change. She paused in front of the mirror, frowning at her reflections as she turned from side to side, examining the sixth or seventh outfit from all angles.

Olivia glanced up her phone and rolled her eyes at her sister. “I don’t care,” she answered honestly, her voice bordering on whiny. Having been dressed simply in leggings and a tummy-hiding baggy top for the last half hour, Olivia was growing tired of her sister’s indecisiveness. “But that shirt’s too fancy,” she added after a moment. “Keep the pants, put on that black stripy shirt, and one of your gazillion black jackets, and let’s go.”

Stephanie shot a pair of finger guns in Olivia’s direction and clicked her tongue. “Excellent!” She determined, disappearing back into the closet.

Olivia uttered a sigh of relief and rolled off the bed before stepping in front of the mirror herself. She sighed again. She’d always been curvier than her sisters, but after her break-up with Ryan, she found comfort in ice cream, wine and her sofa, and the extra pounds had settled around her midsection. She wished the extra weight could have at least found her ass or breasts, but Olivia couldn’t be that lucky. Now her size ten jeans were too tight and hanging like-new in her closet, and leggings were life.

“Okay, let’s go wish the sitter God Speed and skedaddle!” Stephanie told her sister, swatting her on the bottom before prancing out of the bedroom. Olivia followed Stephanie down the stairs and sat on the bench in the foyer, pulling her boots over her calves, while Stephanie fed the sitter a slew of last-minute instructions. Finally, the two of them were seated in Stephanie’s car, heading east to the seedy bar an hour away.

When Stephanie pulled into the parking lot of the pub, Olivia was immediately convinced Ray’s Tavern must be closed. Aside from a rusted old Chevy pickup – which could have been parked since the turn of the century – Stephanie’s car was the only one in the lot.

“It’s open,” Stephanie assured Olivia, sensing her trepidation. “Most people probably just got a cab, or an Uber, or something.”

“I’ll bet they did,” answered Olivia with a chuckle, not convinced the bar was filled with Uber passengers, but not caring either. Velvet roped clubs as seen on The Hills weren’t her style. She had a feeling this seedy bar would be perfect.

Notes